Monday was Labor Day! In the afternoon we met the family up the canyon for games at Jolley's Ranch. Grandma and Grandpa came, too. We played a rousing game of kickball, bocce ball, and head's up. Avery and I explored the creek and we all talked and enjoyed being together in the beautiful out-of-doors! Megan and Ammon brought their hammock, too!

That night Kevin cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for the YSA ward and invited them to our house. We think we fed about 70! Crazy, right? At least two-thirds of the ward is new and they seem like a great group--friendly and busily getting to know each other.

Benjamin had a race Friday morning this week in Park City. His favorite assistant coach, (Mariah, of course!), was there to cheer him on! He feels like he had a good race and has plans for doing even better next time. He and Mariah have matching shirts! Ben also played a singles match and a doubles match for tennis on Saturday. Kevin was able to watch some and he said that Ben did some great things and gave his opponents a good fight.

Bethany made it through school all week and play practice, too! That doesn't mean she was feeling good. She told me that two years ago if she felt the way she does now when she's at school that she would have thought she was super sick and would have come home. One year ago, she did come home. This year she just knows its her medications and whatever her body is dealing with and she just keeps on. This gives me two strong feelings: sadness for her pain and fierce admiration for her toughness. It also fills me with intense gratitude for her willingness to keep facing it everyday. She is finding a way to still find joy in her life. Also . . . she got invited to Homecoming this week! That will be a fun thing to look forward to.

Savannah had a good week at work this week and even made us dinner Thursday night! She is also continuing to work on her recording software. We have had some good conversations.

Kevin finished his new 100-day course and he is feeling great about how quickly he was able to get it done. He's loving the things he is learning about AI tools. He's also been reading a book called, Getting Rich with Dividends that he's finding very interesting. He and Savannah took the 4-wheeler up the canyon on Friday and on Saturday he let Beth and Ben drive it around the block a few times.

This week, I finished painting cabinets! Yay! That really does take a long time. I'm really happy with how it looks, too. I've changed most of the decorations. I still have a couple more ideas to implement, but it's feeling done! I also cut my hair this week.

On Saturday, Megan's sisters-in-law threw her a baby shower! It was so lovely and she had so many people come who love her and are excited for her! She even had some out-of-town family come! My sister, Diane, came with her daughters from St. George and my sister, Maggie, came with two of her daughters from Cedar City! It was so fun to see them. They even hung out at my house to visit longer before they had to drive home. We are all so excited for Meg to have her little boy!